Chaconne: Blow, Corelli, Lully, Marini, Mayr, Muffat, Pezel and Purcell Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhold Goebel, director (Archiv)
The chaconne was a folk dance originating in Spain (or, according to some accounts, Mexico) that rose to the status of art music in dance suites of the 17th Century. Cervantes described the early chaconne as wild, though as a court dance it became moderately slow and stately in three-quarter time.
The pleasure of listening to chaconnes comes from the familiarity of short, repetitive bass lines combined with the freshness of often complex variations in the treble. Goebel acknowledges such pleasure in his notes to 70 minutes of music that introduce not only the possibilities of the form but also the eloquence of period-instrument performance.
Begin with Johann Christoph Pezel’s elaborate 15 1/2-minute “Sonata-Ciacona” –seven of the eight remaining works are less than half its length –and you will be hooked. Here, at last, is a sampler that satisfies the novice and connoisseur alike. Superb!
